WHO?
MAKE MY PSA CONTEST
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WORKSHOP A
1:45 pm - 3:15 pm
Expanding Access to Care
This executive panel explores pathways toward expanding access to care for Mecklenburg’s priority communities. Leaders of several safety net provider organizations serving our public health priority communities will share their sense of the unmet access need, the underlying causes, and their current efforts to address that need. They will then discuss ways to expand access - geographic, economic, and demand.
WORKSHOP A PRESENTER:
Carolyn Allison, MPH
CEO, Charlotte Community Health Clinic
Carolyn Allison has over thirty years of experience in health care administration spanning urban and rural populations, physician practice management, hospital administration, and managed care. She earned a Master of Public Health with a focus on healthcare administration. Since 2016, Carolyn has served as CEO of the Charlotte Community Health Center, one of Charlotte’s two federally qualified health centers (FQHC). She also has actively served the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and the North Carolina Community Health Center Association (NCCHCA) as well as the American Hospital Association.
WORKSHOP A PRESENTER:
Sharisse J. Johnson, MBA
Executive Director, Camino Health Center
Sharisse is a Puerto Rican, Bronx Native, Latina. She has over 25 years of leadership experience in healthcare, has seventeen years of nonprofit leadership experience, and has eight years of managed care experience. Before Camino, Johnson held the position of Director of Network Relations at Cardinal innovations Healthcare. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and an MBA with a Healthcare Management Concentration. Johnson’s work spans various populations, cultures, and ethnicities, and she has worked with Medicaid, uninsured, marginalized, and immigrant populations. Johnson oversees all the health center programs and services which include: Camino Clinic (Primary Care); Camino Contigo (Behavioral Health); Camino Vida (Health, Nutrition and Fitness); and Camino Food Farmacy (Food Pantry), which is a Loaves and Fishes/Friendship Trays site.
WORKSHOP A PRESENTER:
Tchernavia Montgomery, MSW, LCSW
Executive Director, Care Ring
Tchernavia Montgomery (she/hers) began serving as the Executive Director of Care Ring in March of 2021. Previously Chief Program Officer of Crisis Assistance Ministry, Tchernavia has 2 decades of health & human services experience. A servant leader at heart and a licensed clinical social worker, she holds a BSW and MSW from UNCC where she is adjunct faculty and chairs the School of Social Work's Community Advisory Board. Tchernavia also serves on the boards of The Greater Charlotte Region's American Red Cross, North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, the Mecklenburg County Continuum of Care Governing Board and as Vice-Chair of MedLink. In 2021, she was recognized with the City of Charlotte/Atrium Health's MLK Growing the Dream Award and UNC-Charlotte Black Alumni Association's Excellence in Leadership Award. She is a proud member of the Charlotte Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta where she was the 2019 recipient of the Chapter's "Dynamic Delta" award. She and her husband William have 3 sons and have been members of the Charlotte Mecklenburg community for over 20 years.
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WORKSHOP A MODERATOR:
Michael E. Thompson, MS, DrPH
Associate Director, APHI
UNC Charlotte Public Health Sciences
Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences Dr. Michael Thompson serves as Associate Chair and directs UNC Charlotte’s CAHME-accredited and nationally ranked MHA Program. He also serves as the Associate Director of the Academy for Population Health Innovation (APHI), a unique partnership between Mecklenburg County Public Health and UNC Charlotte. Previously, he directed UNC Charlotte’s CEPH-accredited MPH program and the graduate programs in Health Informatics and Analytics. He has over 20 years’ experience in actively developing, leading, and seeing accredited public health and health administration programs domestically and internationally.